Bottle-stopper holder



(No Model.)

J.J.SANDS. BOTTLE STOPPER HOLDER."

Patented May 7, 1889..

Ens PhakwLilMgnpher. Washington. a, c.

UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE.

J OSIAS J. SANDS, OF MERTON, IVISOONSIN.

BOTTLE-STOPPER HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,076, dated May 7, 1889.

Application filed February 9, 1889. Serial No. 299,276. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, J OSIAS J ONES SANDS, of Merton, in the county of Waukesha and State of WVisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bottle-Stopper Holders; and I do hereby declare that the following a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification This invention relates to an improvement in devices for holding stoppers in bottlenecks and other orifices of vessels. In this invention it is contemplated that the bottle neck or vessel-orifice will be provided with opposite interior and inwardly-directed shoulders separated from each other by opposite free spaces or enlargements of the orifice, whereby a transverse holding-bar may be dropped into the Wider part of the orifice and then rotated to bring its ends under the said opposite shoulders.

The invention consists, primarily and essentially, in the combination, with such a shouldered orifice, of a holding-bar formed of a single thickness of sheet mental and having an arched central portion, through which is formed a slot for the admission of a screwdriver or similar flat implement, so that by the rotation of such instrument the holdingbar may be turned into or out of place beneath the opposite shoulders of the orifice.

The object of the invention is to provide a construction of the holding-bar by which the same may be lengthened or shortened, so as to in all cases fully engage the shoulders, notwithstanding the necks may vary somewhat in diameter, and thus invariably insure the fullest possible effect of the holding-bar to retain the stopper in the bottle-neck. The centrallyarched form of the holding-bar manifestly adapts the same to be shortened or lengthened within the desired limits of such Variations in the bottle-necks, while the slot in such arched portion permits a screw-driver to be so far inserted as to give a strong hold for that instrument, and thus enable the holdingbar to be turned out of engagement with the shoulders, notwithstanding any corrosion or sticking that may take place between it and other parts from the lapse of time.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical section of abottle-neck provided with opposite shoulders separated by intervening opposite spaces. This figure also shows a cork in place within the bottle-neck, a sheet-metal disk or washer resting on the top of the cork, and the holding-bar in its holding position. holding-bar are, like the bottle-neck, shown in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a top view of the bottle-neck, the washer, and the holding-bar. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the holdingbar detached. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the washer detached.

A is the bottle-neck, B the stopper, G the holding-bar, and D the washer.

The bottle-neck is provided with opposite interior grooves, 01 affording superjacent shoulders a, which extend only a part of the way around the orifice, and are separated by upwardly-opening spaces or enlargements a of the full diameter of the bottle-neck when measured from bottom to bottom of the opposite grooves a.

The'holding-bar C is formed of metal thin enough to enter the grooves a, and has its ends 0 c curved to conform substantially with the curvature of the bottoms of the grooves, so that when the cork has been forced into the orifice of the vessel to a point below the grooves the holding-bar can be let into the bottle-neck with its ends in the enlargements a a and thereafter rotated in its own plane, so as to bring its ends into the grooves a a.

The holding-bar O is provided with a central arch, O, which has a longitudinal slot, 0, through it for the admission of a screwdriver or similar instrument. By reason of the centrally-arched*form of the holdingbar 0, the latter is- 'manifestly capable of being shortened or elongated, so that if made slightly longer than the width of the orifice through the-grooves a a it will contract by being centrally bent upward; or if shorter than the diameter of the orifice through the same place it may be elongated by depression of the arch. In either case the holding-bar can be made to engage the shoulders a to the full depth of said shoulders, and thus insure the retention of the subjacent cork or stopper B. By being made to bear at its extreme ends against the bottoms of the The cork, washer, and

grooves (Z d, moreover, the holding-bar will be prevented from being accidentally turned out of its place ben eath the shoulders before pressure from the inside of the vessel shallbesuflicient to cause it to bear with enough force against the shoulders a to retain it in place.

The sheet-metal washer D will desirably be employed between the stopper B and the holding-bar C, in order to afford a smooth surface, upon which said holding-bar may be more readily rotated either into or out of engagement with the shoulders d. hen the vessel is filled with liquid charged with gas, or is otherwise exposed to pressure from the inside, the washer D will also serve to prevent the stopper B from bulging centrally, and will apply the outward pressure near the ends of the holdingbar, and thus prevent its retraction from beneath the shoulders.

The holding-bar C may be made of flexible and elastic or flexible and non-elastic metal. If the former case, it may be constructed of such length as to require lengthwise contraction for its insertion beneath the shoulders a, and it will thus automatically extend to the full depth of the grooves a a. If made of flexible and non-elastic material, it may be with the shoulders a, the holding-bar may be pried out by inserting the screw-driver or other implement beneath the arch C, as set forth in my application now pending, Serial No. 293,125, filed December 10, 1888.

I claim as my invention- The c )mbination, with a vessel the orifice of which is provided with opposite shoulders a, separated by opposite spaces a and with a stopper in said orifice, of a holding-bar, 0, having a central arch or outward bend in which is formed a slot for the admission of a flat instrument by which the holding-bar may be rotated into and out of its place beneath the shoulders a.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

J OSIAS J. SANDS. IVitne'ses:

M. E. DAYTON, TAYLOR E. BROWN. 

